


Shadows of the Night

by LizaGreen



Series: Assassin Zuko One Shots [4]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Assassin!Zuko, Assassins & Hitmen, Azulon is a questionable Grandfather, Azulon's plots, Badass Zuko (Avatar), Fire Nation Politics (Avatar), Inspired by Muffinlance partially, Inspired by Vathara, OC's - Freeform, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, Protective Sokka (Avatar), Zuko (Avatar)-centric, in a roundabout way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:15:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25040740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizaGreen/pseuds/LizaGreen
Summary: Ten years ago, Azulon forced Piandao to train four children. This is what happened to them after Zuko is banished.Ozai doesn't know what he has unwittingly unleashed.
Relationships: Iroh & Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Assassin Zuko One Shots [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1072755
Comments: 28
Kudos: 930





	Shadows of the Night

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came to me, in a very roundabout way, while reading Muffinlance's Towards the Sun (which has nothing to do with assassins, but did inspire me to write something where Iroh is on the opposite side to Zuko) and Vathara's Embers, of which I think the influences are a little more obvious. I hope you enjoy!

_Piandao observed the four small children playing together. They were all different ages: two cousins being the youngest at the age of four, a boy only a year older and the eldest at the age of eight, a girl from the mountainous isle of Azuma. That one he was the most unsure of. Behind him, the figure in the shade moved, stepping carefully into the sunlight, watching the children intently._

_“Will they be capable?” Fire_ _L_ _ord Azulon asked, eyes narrowed. That his own grandson was involved here, made Piandao shiver._

_“They are young. The younger they start, the better.”_

_“Yu_ _mi_ _has the basics of Yu Yan training. Work on that,” was the order, the Fire Lord not even looking his way. “_ _Kaito_ _was given some instruction from his grandmother.” Piandao raised an eyebrow- that family was known for its connections to the Foggy Swamp and the… interesting characters that lived there. “_ _Airi_ _is the least trained of them all.” No doubt. Her only connection to this came through her cousin and rumours of where_ _Jinzuk’s_ _family_ _line_ _came from._

 _“I will do as you wish,” Piandao stated with a bow. It wasn’t as if he had much of a choice. “But this will take time.”_

_“Of course. You have until my grandson turns sixteen after all. Do not fail me.” With that, Fire Lord Azulon was gone, leaving Piandao with four children and an invisible knife held to his throat._

* * *

The colonies were incredibly boring, Airi had found. Her mother had purchased the ship the moment Aunt Ursa disappeared, knowing that their standing at court had vanished with her. It had been her Aunt’s wish that she knew her cousins, not Ozai’s. The new Fire Lord would have no former peasants in _his_ palace. Her family had disappeared soon after, but Airi had escaped by hiding with Yumi. Admittedly, her friend was all of fifteen at the time, but the Yu Yan were a family unto themselves. It didn’t matter that she had not been among them for seven years. Yu Yan kept their secrets and protected those that were stationed elsewhere. That they came seeking help, was simply the proof they needed that Ozai could not be trusted. 

Not like Azulon, anyhow. 

Kaito was busy messing with the Captain of the ship, stupidly amused by the simplest things as usual. It was something Piandao had tried to train out of him, but it had never taken. That wasn’t to say he was an idiot- he might act like one, but Kaito was most likely the most observant of the three of them. Only a step down from their leader. _But he’s not here anymore,_ she thought sadly. Their squad had had to make do without for five years. 

It was funny that Ozai had yet to catch on. 

“What are you thinking about?” Airi blinked, turning to find Yumi stood behind her, a soft smile on her face. She had gained her Yu Yan tattoos at sixteen and always carried her bow, knives and shuriken hidden away on her person at all times. Airi preferred kunai herself, considering half of the positions she found herself in. 

“Just our upcoming mission. What did Colonol Shinu need with us again?” she asked, disinterested. Pohuei Stronghold was in the most remote area of the conquered regions possible. It was the least interesting place they had been. Yumi shrugged vaguely. 

“Something about not wanting to be alone with Zhao.” Airi shuddered. Zhao was one of Ozai’s favoured yes men of the moment, thinking he could get away with anything. The rumours in the last colony they had passed was that he had tried to detain Prince Zuko and failed. It had brought a smile to her face to imagine it. 

The Captain approached them, bowing lower than was strictly necessary, Kaito a step behind. Her old friend had an excited gleam in his eye. 

“News from the Colonel,” the Captain reported. “The Commander has been promoted to Admiral. He intends to make a speech when we arrive.” Airi raised an eyebrow. This wasn’t news that would make Kaito this excited. 

“Anything else?” she asked, still bored. The Captain shifted. 

“There has been reports of the Blue Spirit in the area.” She stood up straighter, dots connecting in her mind. She carefully tracked the tides and winds they had had the last few days along with the daily reports and nodded. 

“Excellent work, Captain,” she said with a smile. The Captain bowed and shuffled away, as fast as he could reasonably get away with. She turned a smile towards her friends. “Who feels like having fun?” 

* * *

Admiral Zhao stared down at the small motley group that had just arrived, greeted by the pathetic Colonel. He was practically scraping to the peasants, praising the work of the Yu Yan archer who hadn’t even been a part of capturing the Avatar and throwing useless compliments to the peasant girl that they had had to once laughably call ‘Lady’. He sneered outwardly, making his displeasure known. 

“Colonel Shinu. What are these three doing in my presence?” he asked, eyeing them. The boy was fiddling with something in his sleeve, not even hiding the hidden knife. How incompetent. 

“Our apologies, my Lord, that we grace your humble presence,” the peasant simpered. “We were passing by and Yumi wished to visit her family before she carried out her next mission.” 

“Her next mission?” he asked, eyeing the Colonel. “I wasn’t aware the Yu Yan were being used for anything other than guard duty up here.” A waste of their talents he thought, disgusted. Shinu truly had no vision. 

“I received a messenger hawk from my squadron that we were to capture the Avatar,” the Yu Yan girl reported- presumably Yumi- posture that of a perfect soldier. How precious. 

“Then you will be relieved to find that you no longer have a mission,” he sneered, enjoying their shared looks of confusion. “The Avatar has already been captured. But you are… invited to come to my speech and accompany us back to the Fire Nation in wondrous glory.” Under chains and in an adjoining cage would be perfect. He smirked at the thought. They bowed, acknowledging the invitation for what it was. 

He was going to enjoy the look on that brat’s face the next time he saw him. _Idiotic prince,_ he thought in satisfaction. 

He didn’t notice the shadow in the bushes outside. 

* * *

_A shadow crept through the base, aiming for the highest and heavily guarded chamber. It paused in the darkness, listening. Something was coming. Silent as the grave, it drew its weapons, waiting._

_Two shadows dropped to join it. One wore a white mask. The other had none but held another, red mask in its hands. This was held out, almost like a peace offering with a smirk. The shadow paused in surprise, but then quickly swapped masks with its fellow shadow._

_The t_ _hree slipped through the darkness_ _, ignoring the speech being made by the Admiral and the bored-looking girl stood next to him in outdated Court clothing. The three shared a knowing glace and then split_ _, slinking through the dark_ _and into the stronghold itself._

_When the bells rang out that night to inform the world that the Avatar had escaped, General Iroh was surprised to find his nephew tucked up in bed, asleep. The mask of the Blue Spirit was still hung up on the wall, next to those others used in the four-person play of Love Amongst Dragons._

* * *

Sokka stared at the girl- well woman really- in front of him, blocking their path with nothing more than a bow and arrow, his stomach sinking. He had never met the Yu Yan, but Aang had described them well. They needed to know if they would pursue them any further than Pohuai. It appeared they had. 

Bato had drawn him machete, stance wide, waiting. 

“Who are you?” he growled, fierce as a Water Tribe Warrior ought to be. Sokka was still shaking, Katara’s water wobbly. The girl cocked her head, careful. Then, a shadow in a blue mask dropped from the trees, sword strapped across it’s back. Bato stiffened in surprise. “The Blue Spirit?” There was a flurry of hand gestures and the bow was lowered. 

“The Avatar has been attacked in the abbey,” the girl noted dully, out loud. 

“Zuko,” Sokka growled himself, angry now. Clearly, they weren’t about to be attacked. More signals, some angry, some surprised. The girl shrugged. 

“Zhao,” was all she said. Then, she bowed. “We must return to our mistress now.” And with that, both Spirit and girl were gone. 

A few hours later, they left the paralyzed forms of Prince Zuko, Zhao, and the bounty hunter lying at the abbey and Sokka wished he could scrub the image of that old General with Jun out of his head. At least he didn’t have the bad luck to be paralyzed in a position to watch that. 

* * *

Chief Arnook was less than pleased to find three Fire Nation teenagers dressed up in furs in his hall. He was angry to hear their excuse as to why they were here, but he couldn’t kill children. Not those who were shaking and staring around with big wide-open eyes. It was the eldest that was speaking, a young woman with grey eyes so dark they were almost black and gripping her furs close to her shoulders, shivering just a little less than her counterparts as she held her sister. 

“Please, sir. Our family is just a travelling acting troupe. We perform all over the world, not just in the Fire Nation and had taken refuge on the Earth Kingdom vessel your people brought in when it was blown off course,” she pleaded, clutching her sister close to her. The boy was staring round with huge blue eyes, and who knew filthy ashmakers could have blue eyes, even if they were flecked with gold. 

“It’s true,” the Earth Kingdom Captain piped up. “They’re pretty good, for ashmakers.” The three flinched, huddling closer. 

“And how did you end up here? Could you not turn back south?” Even given the weather, the currents would still have turned them south before they reached Northern Water Tribe territory. Even the Captain looked slightly sick as he gave the news. 

“We were stopped by a Fire Nation fleet. It was head north or die.” Silence descended on the hall. 

“What direction was the fleet headed?” Arnook asked, dreading the answer. The Avatar had only been here a couple of weeks. It was too soon. 

“North,” the Captain stated miserably. “Their ash fell on us nearly all the way here. We thought they’d turn back but…” He trailed off, swallowing. Arnook sighed. It had been eighty years since the Fire Nation had last attempted to invade. Of course, they would attempt to do so now, now that there was hope. 

“Ready the troops. And inform the Avatar. We have an invasion to prepare for.” 

If only he knew what the consequences of that invasion would be. 

Later, after the ash settled and the Ocean Spirit returned to the Oasis, after his daughter had died, Arnook realised he had lost track of the acting troupe. When he went to find them, he found two dead guards, a melted wall and a letter. The contents of which, sent shivers down his spine. 

* * *

_He learnt later that Prince Zuko was no longer imprisoned and a boat was missing. Iroh looked pale thr_ _oughout his meeting with him_ _and_ _Pakku_ _, secret_ _s_ _spilling out of the man who had been bewildered by this turn of events._

_“I just don’t understand!”_ _Pakku_ _had shouted, frustrated. “_ _T_ _he boy isn’t even a member of the White Lotus! How, by Tui and La, did he manage to escape the Northern Water Tribe?”_

_“The acting troupe,”_ _Arnook_ _said quietly. Both old men looked at him, confused and he explained. “They left nothing but this.” He showed them the note. On it was written, in careful lettering,_ ** _Long live_ _Nor_ _en_ _, the Dragon Emperor_** _ **.** _

_“Love Amongst Dragons?” Iroh sounded alarmed. “An acting troupe_ _, you said? How many?”_

_“Three. I take it you know this_ _Nor_ _en_ _?”_

 _“It is the name of the Dragon Emperor when he takes human form in the play,” Iroh replied gravely, eyeing the letter once again. “Banished from the Spirit World and cursed to walk the earth by a Dark Water Spirit.”_

_“And we care about a Fire Nation play because…?”_ _Pakku_ _asked stiffly, sniffing. The man had little time for such frivolities as the theatre. As did_ _Arnook_ _, it had to be said. Iroh was still frowning however, grave._

 _“It might mean nothing. Or…” he trailed off, still frowning. “Or everything.”_

* * *

Jet shook with rage as he watched the filthy askmaker on the ferry, acting out this stupid play for the third ( _or was it the fourth? He couldn’t keep count anymore_ ) time. He didn’t know plays like this, but it made the children on this ferry happy, made the stiff lines in people’s shoulders relax after hearing the words ‘firebender’ and ‘ferry’ put together. Not that this ashmaker was a _good_ firebender. Paltry wisps for show and nothing more, as he and that stupid waterbender acted out the closing fight. 

For a moment, Jet had thought them _interesting_. Had tried to talk them into liberating food for the people and joining his Freedom Fighters. Then someone had gotten wind that they were _actors_ whatever that meant, and some moron in First Class insisted on a play to pass the time. It would be awkward for them to be served good food vs slop and one of the actors, the one who hid under that stupid hat, insisted that the people be fed before they acquiesced. 

And now, here they were. Fourth rendition in. There was polite clapping from the exhausted adults, chants of _again, again, again_ from the children. It was the girl in the green and gold mask who laughed and shook her head. 

“How about a different play?” she asked, and the children looked put out. The fights were exciting, they wanted to watch the match _again_ , but the Captain of the ferry had had enough and Jet smirked. Smellerbee and Longshot had come through for him. 

“I’ll have no filthy ashmakers on my ship!” he screeched, and Jet allowed his smirk to be more visible. The girl shrank, eyes wide. 

“P-Please sir…” she stuttered. 

“No! Better food for the Serpent than on _my_ ship!” the Captain yelled further. “All you ever do is cause-“ 

“War?” a raspy voice asked, the boy with the red mask, the one with that hat as if he were _better than them_ , the _firebender_ \- and Jet couldn’t look at him anymore. A child shrieked in terror and the Captain paled at the sight of the scar, so deliberately branded across the left side of his face. “We know all about the war.” The girl grabbed his hand, face sad and scared, the other two coming in to make a small huddled group of _refugees_ and _that wasn’t fair, they weren’t supposed to be-_

“How old are you boy?” a grizzled old veteran asked, leaning on his crutch that acted as a second leg. 

“Sixteen.” More awkward silence as the veteran shuffled up, reaching out to touch the scar. The boy flinched, leaned away. The man paused and nodded, as if satisfied. 

“These kids aren’t soldiers, Captain. They’re war children.” The man’s voice was firm. “They’re just looking for honest work away from conscription.” There were four vigorous nods, fear in the line of each and every one of them. _As there should be, how dare they try to pretend they’re even human…_ “’Sides, they weren’t the ones planning on stealing from your kitchens.” This was said with a heavy side-eye towards Jet, Smellerbee and Longshot. 

Suddenly, Jet found _himself_ having to defend himself from being thrown to the Serpent as the fifth rendition of Love Amongst Dragons started, the veteran given a place of honour among the children on the front row. 

* * *

The Fire Nation, Sokka decided, was far too _hot_. He was sweating buckets as he lay on Piandao’s veranda when there was a polite knock at the door. 

“We shall have another round later,” the Master said, frowning as his butler went to answer the door. “Get dressed for now and meet me in the parlour.” He did as ordered and entered to find a stiff-backed sword master and a teen inelegantly lazing on a seat opposite. Sokka gingerly sat between them, wondering. The boy had on royal livery, as he had come to learn of it, and a scroll had been placed just so in the centre of the table. Blue, golden-flecked eyes turned on him and the boy gave him a lazy smile. 

“Hey, there. You must be Master Piandao’s new student,” he said, mischief sparking in his eyes. Sokka swallowed, feeling uneasy. 

“Um… yeah,” he said, not sure how much he could give away. Piandao was still eyeing the scroll like it was a rattle-viper, poised to attack. 

“Kaito,” Piandao spoke up. “What is it you are here for?” 

“To deliver this message from His Highness,” the boy- Kaito apparently- said, smile still in place, slurping more than sipping at his tea. “Got to be on my way soon. Yumi will kill me if I miss the checkpoint and Her Royal Highness has been extra cranky, more so than usual. At this rate, there won’t be any turtle-ducks left to hide.” 

“Huh?” Sokka asked, brain stuttering to a stop. Turtle-ducks? What on earth did any of this have to do with turtle-ducks? Piandao however, merely nodded, reaching out for the scroll. Kaito nodded and gave the Master a bow. 

“It was good to see you, Master. I pass on the respects of His Highness, Crown Prince Zuko as well, who was regretfully unable to pass on this news himself. He will be awaiting your messenger hawk.” Sokka tried very hard not the swallow audibly. This had been a colossal mistake. Then, Kaito turned to him with a wink. “I suppose I’ll be seeing you around, student.” With that he was gone. Piandao unrolled the scroll, reading the words with what may have been construed as trepidation on anyone else. When he was finished, he downed the rest of his tea and sighed. 

“It appears that you will need a sword,” Piandao said gravely. “There is an invasion coming to the Fire Nation.” 

* * *

_Sokka learned from Iroh later, after that fight in the_ _swordmaster’s_ _garden, that most boys his age had already been conscripted into the army and that was why he insisted that he and Katara claim to be orphans caring for their younger siblings. Caring for dependants was one of only very few excuses to not be conscripted. It had made Sokka feel sick, to wonder how many of those soldiers who met with a watery grave in the North Pole had been there because they were ordered to and not because they wanted to be there._

* * *

Even with prior knowledge that they already knew about the eclipse, the idiots hadn’t changed their plans. He had risked two of his closest friends and for what? An invasion that just wouldn’t work. So, it seemed he would have to take matters into his own hands. Airi tried to talk him out of it, to simply melt away in the night, but he _had_ to. For the fifty new recruits who had died just so Pohuai Stronghold could be raised. It had taken some digging, but he had managed to get his hands on that report in the end, _after_ ensuring Azula wouldn’t manage to keep her grubby little fingers on Uncle. 

She had been mad about that. He was waiting for the attempt on his life, but it never came. It seemed she was waiting until after the eclipse when her glory would be at its height. 

Zuko didn’t have that kind of time. 

* * *

Ozai was where he was meant to be and Zuko ignored the sounds of the idiots attacking the palace instead of _under_ it. _You have the Blind Bandit with you, how can you not see?_ His father was not surprised to find him there, was so confident in his own power that he sent the guards away. He didn’t expect the swords, Zuko could see it in his eyes. So, he hadn’t known about Piandao and all those other lessons. Good. He kept the man talking as Airi slipped in through the side door, just out of sight of Ozai’s peripheral vision, a shadow against the wall. 

He wasn’t expecting the chi block either. 

Zuko allowed himself this one single smile as the airships rose into the air. The war was wrong, the world was wrong, but this was the Fire Nation and this was home. He would defend it with his life if he had to. 

* * *

_Hakoda had never met the Prince before, but this teen dressed in finery and armour, stood over him, face blank, could only be him. The scar gave it away. Around him were three others, two girls and a boy, all blank faced as they waited for their leader’s verdict._

_“You attacked Caldera City,” the prince stated. It wasn’t a question. “You killed my people and you came to murder my father.” There was no inflection, only a statement of facts. Hakoda did not allow any fear to show on his face._

_“You killed my wife,” he spat. The longer they focused on him, the more time the children had to get away. The younger girl tittered, as if she thought that was funny._

_“I’m not sure an eight year old has the capacity to kill a woman of the Southern Water Tribe,” she stated with a smile._

_“’Cept Azula,” the other boy chimed in. The eldest girl- woman really, she had to be at least twenty- elbowed him and they fell silent once again. The Prince merely stared at him a long moment._

_“The Sea Ravens were prosecuted and demoted for that raid,” he said slowly, carefully. “Their leader, Yon Rha is now retired. In the Fire Nation, justified vendetta is legal. Making war over it, and killing our people, is not.” There was a fierce spark in those golden eyes, an anger burning just as deep as his own. Hakoda reeled back, surprised to see his own feelings reflected back at him._

_Perhaps this was no boy at all._

_“Captain!” the Prince called, “see that the leaders are rounded up and placed in the Round Tower. Three meals a day and water, as befits their station. And send a letter to the Western Air Temple. I need a word with my Uncle.” With that he turned away, not even waiting for the guard’s bow._

_“Yes, Your Highness.” Hakoda could only feel cold._

_All was lost. He knew where to find the children._

* * *

Sokka had been expecting a lot of things while camped at the Western Air Temple. Aang finally learning firebending reluctantly from Iroh. Having to avoid half of the confusing temple because he was not a bender at all and therefore didn’t have the capacity to prevent himself from falling down a hole designed for airbending monks. Sparring practice with himself because there was no one else in their group who could fight with weapons, because the Duke and Pipsqueak fought like bandits still and Teo was stuck in a wheelchair. 

He did not expect to be found within a day. 

They arrived in the night but didn’t attack, so that was something he supposed. He had thought the failure of the Day of Black Sun was the worst that he would live through but no, this was worse. Because, even if they weren’t attacking, they had cut off their only way of escape. Appa refused to go underground again and Aang refused to leave him behind. They had been separated once, never again. And Sokka could respect that, even if now wasn’t the time to be digging their heels in. The Temple was not defensible. He turned to Iroh for help. 

“What do we do?” he asked, swallowing past the fear in his throat. Katara was poised, ready to attack those oh so flimsy cloth balloons keeping them afloat but there was only so many of them, and near twenty balloons all full of Fire Nation soldiers. Iroh was eyeing them with a frown, unsure. 

“They cannot have been sent by my brother or niece,” he reasoned slowly. “They would have attacked by now, if so. Which leaves…” _Zuko._ Because _of course_ it would be Zuko. Who else was capable of finding them even when they thought they had lost him? 

Iroh wasn’t wrong. It was Prince Ponytail who jumped onto their ledge, but this time he wasn’t alone. With him came a familiar trio of actors, last seen enacting a play one person down. Familiar also, was the boy covering his left side, and therefore the blind side caused by the damage of the jerkbender’s scar. 

Katara attacked before he could stop her. She didn’t get very far. The water whip was stopped in its tracks, frozen and shattered into tiny slivers of ice, all shot back towards her. Sokka had enough time to drag her to the ground before they ended up _in_ her, too frozen by shock to move. _So, Zuko has a_ _waterbender_ he thought vaguely. _A_ _waterbender_ _who fights with a sword_. Kaito straightened from his stance as if he hadn’t just shattered their view of the world. 

“Anyone else?” he asked brightly.

“Zuko?” Iroh asked from somewhere behind them. “What…” He seemed lost for words. Sokka might be too, if he wasn’t noting the Yu Yan archer eyeing them all from the top of the war balloon ramp. She was watching, waiting. He recognised her suddenly, not just from the North Pole but also from one half forgotten day outside of a nunnery. 

“One of you is the Blue Spirit,” he noted out loud, flushing when half the group turned to look at him. He gestured to the archer. “She spoke with the Blue Spirit when that shirshu attacked the nunnery.” Zuko’s left brow twitched and Sokka got the feeling it would have raised an eyebrow should it have been there. He noted vaguely that the Prince was far more terrifying with the traditional top knot over that stupid shaved ponytail. The three were very carefully _not_ looking at each other and the girl shrugged. 

“We swap.” It wasn’t an admission but it wasn’t a lie either. Sokka blanched, trying to work that out, dragging his mind back to the present. _Focus,_ _Piandao_ _told you to keep your focus_. 

“What… what do you want?” he asked hoarsely, swallowing. They’d defeated him before, they could do it again. Katara was a master waterbender, Toph could probably deal with the Yu Yan- she was after all the greatest earthbender in the world even if Sokka would never admit it out loud for her- and Aang had smacked the jerkbender around enough times to get around him. Besides, he hadn’t brought Ty Lee or that knife wielding girl, so who _cared_ if he had a waterbender? 

“Negotiation. And a word with my Uncle.” Zuko wasn’t even looking at them. His face was disconcertingly blank, not even a note of anger in it as usual. Just… blank. 

“Zuko,” Iroh started. “Please, don’t do this. You are not your father.” 

“I thought that was obvious,” the girl stated. The archer rolled her eyes. 

“In their defence, Airi, not _everyone_ has an insider to know what happened in that Agni Kai,” Kaito said lightly. Zuko’s expression did not move but Sokka thought that, for a brief moment, he had seen a flash of hurt in those golden depths. By the way Iroh recoiled, Sokka got the feeling he had too. That he somehow hadn’t meant that. _What Agni Kai?_ He wondered. Iroh knew but he was also rather tight lipped about certain things and Sokka had never entirely trusted the man, especially after he admitted to being a part of an extensive network of spies around the world which included _King_ _Bumi_ of all people. _Did Zuko know? Is this_ _Airi_ _a part of it too?_ He glanced at Iroh who was giving her a _look. Probably not._

“My father wouldn’t negotiate,” Zuko stated. There was no emotion in his voice either. _Are we sure this is Zuko? He’s acting more like…_ Something caught Sokka’s eye. Zuko's hands were clasped behind his back but there was something to the stiff posture that gave Sokka the feeling the only reason he was stood like that was because he was trying to hide his shaking hands. _He’s terrified. He came here to supposedly negotiate and he’s terrified of something_. 

“Negotiate? The Fire Nation doesn’t negotiate!” Katara snapped, having recovered from her shock. “I see you brainwashed a waterbender to your cause. You’re all despicable.” Water flew even before Sokka could wince. _This is going to be bad._

He wasn’t wrong. Within seconds, Katara and Kaito were trading blows in water and ice, Aang had jumped to defend her from Airi who jumped forwards, her movements swift, fluid and horrifyingly similar. _Guess he didn’t need Ty Lee. How are there **more** __chi blockers?_ Sokka barely dodged an arrow and ducked behind Toph’s hastily constructed earth wall. Zuko had backed up, eyes watching carefully, warding off attacks that made it through to him. Sokka nodded towards Aang, watching as soldiers poured from the already docked balloon, aware there would soon be more. If they could get a few down, they might be able to make a hole to escape through. Appa roared at the flames being flung about. 

“Get Zuko!” he yelled. It was obvious that he was the one in charge. Aang leapt, blasting off an air strike- 

And fell with a yelp as a whirlwind created of air and flying shurikens slammed into him, a thousand small but debilitating cuts on his arms and legs. Katara screamed his name but the archer _moved,_ wind and shurikens following her. Sokka gulped. _Air, water, fire… all he’s missing is earth_. How had Zuko found an _airbender_? 

Iroh stopped and stared. Toph enquired rather quietly what had just happened. Katara was now encased in ice, Airi having attacked from behind, but they were clearly not taking any chances. Sokka grimaced and lay down his boomerang. It wouldn’t do for them all to be incapacitated. 

“We’ll negotiate,” he said through gritted teeth. Zuko nodded before turning. 

He didn’t look back. 

**Author's Note:**

> In answer to any questions regarding Dance of the Dragons, Spoilers


End file.
